Buried
by wolfraven80
Summary: When Byleth receives an anonymous note offering information about her father, Edelgard must intervene lest her darkest secret be unearthed. [f!Byleth/Edelgard] [Spoilers for Black Eagles route part 1]


**Buried**

Though Byleth had once seemed like a shadow in the darkness, now she was like a beacon, the sheen of her pale hair visible from a distance. Edelgard drew in a deep breath of the cool night air and steeled herself as she set foot on the stairway that led down into Garreg Mach's small cemetery. If only Byleth's intentions were as easy to make out. If only Edelgard could know for certain if the changes to her teacher were solely exterior.

But Edelgard knew well that lingering on what-ifs and might-have-beens was a pointless endeavour. There was only one path and she would walk it no matter the obstacles.

She padded down the steps, but, silent as she was, it was not enough to catch the professor unawares. "Late for a stroll, isn't it?" Byleth said without turning.

"I could say the same of you, Professor."

A noncommital hum was the only response Edelgard received. In other parts of the monastery knights clomped around on their nighttime patrols, but in this isolated corner of the grounds, they were alone with nothing to interrupt the strained silence that stretched out between them.

Only a handful of weeks ago it would have been a far different scene. With her usual calm, Byleth would have asked if bad dreams had kept Edelgard awake. But her coolness would not belie her very real concern. And Edelgard would secretly revel in the warmth of Byleth's gaze, the intensity of those blue eyes. And the fact that Byleth had chosen her house–had chosen _her_.

But now, Byleth's guardedness was as obvious as Edelgard's own. The events of the past month had erected a wall of uncertainty between them.

Finally Edelgard stepped closer to stand shoulder to shoulder with Byleth. She was examining one of the headstones. Not her father's. "So, my teacher, how long do you plan to pretend that you were only out for some air?"

"It depends on how long you pretend that you didn't send me this letter." She held up a slip of paper folded in two. It looked like nothing more than the notes sometimes left on Byleth's desk by admirers among the student body. Byleth had managed to attract the attention of male and female admirers alike, but each morning Byleth had found such a note on her desk she had read it, folded it back up, placed it in her pocket, and begun lecturing as on any other day, without so much as blushing or batting an eyelash. Utterly unperturbed. Some of the students had taken to joking that she didn't have a heart. But Edelgard knew they said much the same about herself.

"Then it may be some time as I most certainly did not send you an anonymous letter."

"Ah I see," Byleth said with a nod. "So it's just a coincidence that you happen to be here. And it seems now we're back to both of us being on completely unrelated late-night strolls."

"Perhaps if you shared the contents of the letter I might be able to assist you with determining the identity of the sender."

Byleth glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. "All right then. I'll play along. The letter says that if I want more information about the people who murdered my father that I should come here, with the letter, and look for the stone that will open only for the flame-bearer."

Edelgard's blood was like ice water in her veins but she held herself perfectly still, ignoring the gooseflesh that rose on her arms and the hairs standing on the back of her neck.

Byleth had turned to look at her again. "As far as I know there are only two people at Garreg Mach who fit that description and–again, purely by coincidence–we both happen to be here tonight."

"That is very strange indeed, Professor," Edelgard said, her mask of calm well in place. After all, she was, by now, a practiced liar. As anyone planning to infiltrate and overthrow an organization as powerful as the Church of Seiros must be. She was ice. She was flame. Whichever was necessary in a given situation

"Shall we look for this mysterious stone, Edelgard? We can do it faster between the two of us." She folded the letter back into her pocket and began inspecting another headstone.

"Do you think that wise? It sounds like it might be a trap."

Byleth leaned down to examine the stone and trace her fingers over the inscription. "Oh undoubtedly." She rose and turned to Edelgard. "But as you know I'm very good at springing traps." And then, with a raised eyebrow, "And escaping them."

Edelgard gave a curt nod and turned to the nearest headstone. "As you wish." For several minutes they continued on in silence. Byleth methodically inspected the tombs one by one while Edelgard kept one eye on the headstones and the other on her professor. "What is it do you think we're looking for?"

Byleth's expression was as unconcerned as ever. "I'm sure we'll know it when we see it."

The professor's imperturbability was something many found unnerving. At first it had surprised even Hubert, who had a special knack for making others uncomfortable. Byleth, however, had been immune even to his grim countenance. Edelgard had heard others refer to Byleth's expression as blank, disinterested, distant. Yet that was not the face Edelgard was accustomed to seeing. All the times they had shared tea in the sunny afternoons between training... Byleth's mouth often curved into a tiny smile. Quips would drop from her lips. Her eyes would light up as they spoke of tactics or technique. Edelgard was certain she'd even seen a blush creep up Byleth's cheeks on rare occasions. But the woman here tonight was not that Byleth but the stony-faced stranger so many others complained of.

Perhaps it had been inevitable. Edelgard had long known that as emperor she would have to forgo such luxuries as friendship. And now that Byleth had been granted the power of the goddess she was, more than ever, a pawn of the Church.

"Found it," Byleth announced.

Edelgard turned in time to see the Crest of Flames flare to life on the face of a large stone slab that lay on the ground beneath one of the headstones, blazing red in the darkness. And then the stone slab slid to one side to reveal a stairway. Byleth peered into the dark passageway. "That was unexpected." And then, turning to Edelgard. "Are you planning to join me?"

"Of course," Edelgard said with a nod. "I'm very interested in discovering who sent you this cryptic invitation."

Byleth gave her an appraising look but did not reply. Instead, she unhooked a lantern from her belt and lit it before stepping into darkness. Without a word, Edelgard followed.

#

The steps were narrow and steep. Walls of solid stone rose close on either side so that they could only move in single file. The halo of Byleth's lantern seemed to glance off the darkness like a dull blade against plate armour. Edelgard noted that Byleth's free hand rested on the hilt of her sword.

The stairs ended at a curving passageway. At the far end Edelgard could glimpse the flicker of torchlight through an arched entryway. Byleth paused only a moment to take this in before marching towards the light.

The passage opened onto a large chamber lit by a handful of torches in wall sconces. Arched doorways of yawning darkness gaped on either side of the chamber. Empty shelves lined the walls, suggesting that this place had once been used as a storeroom. Byleth paused to note the lit torches and calmly extinguished her lantern. Edelgard hung back, remaining in the shadows as Byleth stepped through the archway. She paused just inside the room and did not so much as start when a cloaked figure stepped out of the darkness of one of the passageways across the room.

"You came." The voice was female. Unfamiliar. "Just like she said you would."

"And who would that be?" Byleth said, her tone as neutral as if inquiring about the weather. But her fingers were curled around the hilt of her sword.

The cloaked woman approached, the dark grey fabric making her features indistinguishable. Her black boots clacked on the stone floor. "You wished to know about the ones who killed your father?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Byleth. "Yes."

The woman held up a satchel. "This will answer all of your questions."

"Is that so? And you're offering your assistance, I assume, out of the goodness of your heart?"

The woman snorted. "I have my orders. And I follow them."

"Hmm."

Edelgard kept her breathing slow and quiet even though her heart was pounding. Nothing about this was right. Whose orders? Had Solon not acted on his own when he'd tried to eliminate Byleth? She had thought the other members of his faction had been unaware of his plan.

The cloaked figure opened the satchel and reached into it, but then paused. "This is yours. You need only return the letter to me."

Byleth squared her shoulders. "All right." And then, just loud enough for Edelgard to hear, "Time to spring the trap."

With long strides, Byleth crossed the distance between herself and the cloaked figure, marching to the far end of the chamber. The figure withdrew her hand from the satchel, something balled in her fist. It pulsed with light, brilliant red, like a glowing ember. Terror seized Edelgard's heart as she realized just what it was. She dashed forward, sword drawn. The figure spun as she caught sight of her. "What is _she_ doing here?"

Black tendrils sprouted from the fiery globe in the woman's hand even as Byleth drew her sword and lunged forward. The woman stared down at her hand, tendrils wrapping around her arm, shooting up to her neck, her face. "This isn't what was supposed to happen. Cornelia! You said–" Her words disintegrated into a gurgling scream as the tendrils enveloped her face, slithering around her. Byleth's sword bounced off the writhing darkness and she scooted back. In mere moments, the figure was enveloped entirely.

The darkness swelled and writhed, growing second by second. Edelgard could have raced back towards the exit. She was certain Hubert would have told her to do just that were he here now. But she would not abandon her teacher. "Run!" Edelgard yelled even as Byleth was

scrambling backwards to avoid the expanding black mass. A limb of seething darkness shot out towards Byleth and she rolled to one side to avoid it. Edelgard adjusted course to reach her. In the back of her mind she realized she was running _away_ from safety. But what else could she do but race to her professor's side?

The pulsing darkness expanded, gaining mass and solidity, just as when they'd witnessed Miklan Gautier's transformation. But this chamber was smaller. The roiling black expanded and as a draconic shape emerged, its stony hide crashed into the chamber ceiling, sending dust and hunks of stone flying. A bellow ripped out of the long, reptilian throat that wound halfway across the room as it uncoiled. The tail whipped towards Edelgard and she dodged wildly to avoid it.

The demonic beast was now fully formed, filling the room, like a living mass of stone beneath its gravelly hide. Its eyes pulsed with a hellfire glow. Sabre-like fangs gnashed the air. Its roar made the walls tremble and filled the room with the sweltering heat of it breath.

"With me!" Byleth yelled.

Edelgard scrambled to catch up to her professor. Her mind raced to try to understand Byleth's plan as she circled around the swinging tail and _towards_ the beast. But after so many battles under Byleth's command Edelgard knew better than to question or hesitate. It was the one circumstance in which she would simply follow.

They moved between the wall and the massive tail and the demonic beast lost its sight-line on them. But as it swung its head around to try to spot its prey, its dorsal spines collided with the ceiling. Powdered stone rained down from the ceiling in a thick mist. The creature roared and tried to circle around but in the small space its flanks crashed into the shelving along the walls splintering the old wood.

They were close to the beast's left hind limb now. Byleth shot Edelgard a quick glance, and gestured with her weapon. Edelgard nodded and, shoulder to shoulder, they charged forward, swords extended. They brought their blades down on the creature's limb in perfect tandem, digging into the stony hide and into the fleshy tendons beneath, drawing dark blood. The demonic creature shrieked and reared up in shock. Its head thudded into the ceiling once again. This time the entire room shuddered. Hunks of rock and masonry rained down. The massive tail jerked and spasmed.

"The doorway!" Byleth yelled, snagging Edelgard's wrist and racing towards the nearest archway which was clear now that the demonic beast had shifted its injured limb.

The walls shuddered around them. The creature arched its neck, trying to locate them, jaws snapping. Its body thudded against the wall as it tried to shift its injured bulk. Byleth and Edelgard lunged towards the archway just as the ceiling gave a final shudder and, with a deafening crash, gave way entirely.

#

In the aftermath of the collapse, a tarry blackness swallowed Edelgard and all she could hear was an awful pounding. Dazed, it took her a full minute to realize it was the sound of her own blood thrumming in her ears. The darkness was complete. Where was Byleth? Where was the demonic beast? She pushed herself up and drew in a deep breath to try to calm herself–and then choked on thick dust and began to cough. She brought the back of her hand to her mouth trying to cover the sound in case enemies were near but it was too late...

A scraping sound nearby increased her alarm. She pawed around for her sword, but found only stone. With mounting panic she drew the dagger at her hip and raised it before her in a defensive pose.

Light flared to life. Gripping the blade, she blinked against the sudden glow.

But then Edelgard made out a mess of pale hair falling around an equally pallid face. "Professor!" she choked out, throat still raw from the dusty air.

Only a few paces away, Byleth was crouched over her now-cracked but still functional lantern. Heaps of rubble were strewn around them but the tunnel they had escaped into appeared to have held together. "That was a close thing."

"Yes," Edelgard agreed, sheething her dagger. "We very nearly were caught in the collapse."

"I'm sure that was the intention." She cocked her head. "That or that I would get eaten. I suppose either one would have done." She shimmied closer to Edelgard. "Are you in all one piece?"

"I... believe so."

Byleth's brow furrowed. "Let me take a look." Edelgard froze as Byleth leaned close and inspected her in the dim light. She placed her fingers beneath her chin and tilted her face to one side and the other. Edelgard couldn't breathe. While Byleth's green eyes roamed over her, Edelgard's were fixed on her face: the lines of her brow, her eyelashes, now as pale as her hair and the one strand that had fallen over her face, her high cheekbones, the delicate curve of her pink lips. Byleth was so close she could have reached out and–She quashed that thought before it could fully form.

"I'm fine. Really."

"You're bleeding." Byleth's eyes scanned her up and down. "I just can't tell from– Ah. Your hand."

Edelgard look down and stared at her right hand, where her white glove was torn, exposing raw, bloody knuckles. She grimaced, suddenly aware of a throbbing pain. "Just a scrape."

Byleth fished a handkerchief out of her coat. "Let's wrap it just to be safe. That should keep it clean until you can get to the infirmary." She cast a glance at the dark passageway around them. "_Assuming_ we can get to the infirmary." With the ease of someone accustomed to binding battlefield wounds, she tied the handkerchief around Edelgard's hand.

But as Byleth tilted her head down to inspect her handiwork, Edelgard spotted a splash of colour oozing down the professor's pale neck. "What about you?"

"Me?"

Edelgard's hand seemed to have a will of its own as it reached out and touched Byleth's neck, pausing long enough to feel the pulse in her throat jump beneath the touch of those fingertips. Her gloved fingers came back sticky with blood. Byleth cursed under her breath and reached back to gingerly touch the back of her head. She grimaced as she found the spot. "Damn. Scalp wounds always gush." She patted her coat until she found another handkerchief and pressed it against the cut. "Manuela is going have a field day with this."

Edelgard couldn't help but smile. "Do you not want her to thinking it's the result of late-night carousing?"

"I am indeed known for my drunken escapades," Byleth deadpanned.

Their gazes caught and for a moment it was just like it had been before Jeralt's death. When they had talked easily and Edelgard had felt, for the first time, like she had someone who could share her burdens, someone who cast a bright light into the darkness that enveloped her life as surely as the pitch dark of this tunnel.

But then Byleth's features hardened. She looked away. "We should get going," she murmured. Edelgard's heart dropped, though she immediately chided herself for the disappointment. Losing friends was certainly the least of the sacrifices she would have to make in the near future. "Can you carry the lantern? I should keep pressure on this cut until it stops oozing."

"Of course, Professor." Edelgard dusted herself off and took the lantern. In the swaying light she managed to spot the glint of her lost sword and retrieved it. She felt better having it there in its sheathe, just in case anything else should try to kill them tonight. A battleaxe would have been better of course, but that wasn't the sort of thing you could just carry around the academy all day.

Since she was holding the light she took the lead this time, footsteps echoing dully in the narrow stone passageway. There were no distinguishing features, only blank walls carved out of the stone beneath Garreg Mach, like they were walking through the monastery's bones.

Something skittered in the darkness behind them. Edelgard spun around, the lantern's circle of light spinning wildly. "What was that?"

"Rats, I think," Byleth said with utter calm.

"Rats?" Edelgard repeated, her voice pitched about an octave higher than normal.

Byleth nodded. "It's a good sign. Rats are excellent at finding food and exits."

"I don't like rats."

Byleth tilted her head. "No one _likes_ rats." But then after a second's pause, "Actually I did meet a mercenary once who had a pet rat. He trained it to do tricks and it would run up his sleeve and–" Edelgard was unable to stifle a strangled shriek at the very thought. Byleth raised her eyebrows. "Sorry."

Edelgard cleared her throat. "Let's keep moving, shall we?"

Byleth nodded and for some time they walked in a silence interrupted only by the echo of their footfalls and the occasional scrabbling sound in the darkness. The darkness seemed to swallow time so Edelgard was uncertain how long it was before her teacher spoke again.

"Where does this passage lead?" came Byleth's voice from behind her, as blank as the stone surrounding them.

"I have no idea." And that at least was the truth. "Why would you think I'd know?"

"The tunnel in the cemetery was made for the bearer of the Crest of Flames. My crest was only identified a few months ago so the entrance surely can't have been created for me. And I only know one other person who happens to bear this rare and supposedly extinct crest."

Edelgard's lips thinned. Damn Cornelia for acting on her own. Damn all of them for their interference. For their reckless disregard for human life. Where had that woman gotten her hands on a crest stone? And why had she thought she could act without consequence? Once she had settled things with the Church, Edelgard would come for them all. "That's quite a leap of logic, Professor, don't you think?"

"Edelgard, I _know_!" The fervency of Byleth's tone–so completely uncharacteristic–stopped Edelgard in her tracks.

She spun to face her. "What?"

"I know you're the Flame Emperor."

Just a handful of words but they were enough to leave Edelgard speechless and send her heart hammering against her ribs. That short string of words was a death sentence for one of them. She had known one day it would come out, but not like this, not here in the darkness buried beneath Garreg Mach. She summoned all her sang-froid to try to salvage the situation. "Is that so, Professor?" Byleth stared hard at her. "If you suspect me of something then why haven't you reported as much to Lady Rhea?"

Byleth shook her head and threw up her hands, her coolness replaced by something simmering and dangerous. "Because I have no proof. And because I believe in the world you want to create. And because–" Her eyes met Edelgard's and her words fell away. She shook herself and stood there, looking down at the stone floor. "And because..." She looked up again, her face ashen. "Rhea did something to me. When I was a baby. She... changed me somehow." Her palm hovered over her heart and the gesture was so unnatural for Byleth that Edelgard wanted to ask what it was, what scars she bore. "My father faked his death and took me away from here. Because he was trying to protect me. From _her_."

Her own temper flared at the thought of Rhea tampering with Byleth as if she were no more than a doll to be used for the Church's plans, whatever those might be. That was how Rhea saw all human life–as mere playthings to be used and discarded. "I'm truly sorry, Professor. I had no idea." She bowed her head. "We are not so different then."

"Except that I appear to be everyone's favourite puppet of late whereas you are one of the people pulling the strings."

"You're mistaken, Professor."

Byleth's eyes narrowed. "How long are you going to keep lying to me? Both times I've encountered the Flame Emperor you've managed to be mysteriously absent."

Edelgard drew herself up. "As you well know I carried professor Manuela to the infirmary."

"We had time to fight an entire battle and return." Byleth raised an eyebrow. "The infirmary is one wing down not two kingdoms over. And you didn't linger there long. I asked."

"I–"

"And oh yes the second time. You'd conveniently run off on your own to check for survivors. You even got out of Hubert's sight for long enough to alarm him."

"That's hardly proof of–"

"And then when you spoke to me..."

Edelgard's chest clenched. She had gone too far. She knew it had been a terrible risk to speak so openly but it was nigh unbearable to be thought responsible for the horrors in Remire village. She had had no part in that and _would_ play no part in such experiments. Solon and his ilk were hardly better than Rhea herself; they all treated innocent people as tools to be used until they broke. "Professor..."

Edelgard gasped as Byleth swooped in and gripped her by the arms, locking their gazes. "You said the Flame Emperor would appear without a mask and I could look into those eyes and decide what I believe." Edelgard did not flinch though there were storm clouds in Byleth's eyes. "There is only _one_ thing I want to know, Edelgard." Her voice was sharpened steel. "Did you know your _allies_–" she spat the word like a curse, "would target my father?" She gave her a shake. "Did you know?"

"No! Of course not. I have no desire to make an enemy of you. I came _with you_ to avenge your father."

"And it was a trap," Byleth snapped.

Edelgard's whole body felt heavy, as if she bore the weight of the Flame Emperor's armour even now. She'd known her ruse would come to an end and one day she would have to confront her teacher. But she had not imagined it would happen like this. In the dark. All alone. With the rats. Just like when she'd been a child.

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, her eyes alighted on the collar of Byleth's coat, soaked with blood. But the wound had stopped oozing down her neck. The flicker of relief Edelgard felt seemed discordant–for in a moment they might be enemies and she could not afford to wish her enemies well.

Drawing in a deep breath, Edelgard met Byleth's ferocious stare. "They acted on their own. Their goal is to destroy the Church. And they see you as a tool of the Church."

"It seems that's all anyone sees me as these days."

"No, Professor. You are so much more. You–"

Byleth released her vice-like grip on Edelgard's arms and turned away. "We should keep moving," she grumbled. As if that was the end of this discussion. The end of everything. But if she thought Edelgard would give up so easily then she had gravely miscalculated.

Edelgard snagged the professor's arm and tugged her back around to face her. "Now it is _your_ turn to listen to me. Solon's allies are the ones who experimented on my family, who _made_ me the Flame Emperor, the bearer of the Crest of Flames. Just as the Church made you what you are." She could not read the expression on Byleth's face. Blank as the first day they'd met. "We have the chance to be more than what they made us. To be the wielders instead of the wielded." Edelgard looked into her eyes and spoke the words she's longed to for so many months. "I asked you before to join me. The offer still stands. My teacher... I don't wish to be your enemy. I want you by my side."

Byleth's expression softened. Her free hand reached out and touched Edelgard's face. Edelgard's breath caught as those calloused fingertips brushed over her cheekbones. "Edelgard..."

She stared into Byleth's startlingly green eyes and felt for a moment as if they were teetering on the edge of something. As if here, deep beneath Garreg Mach, something had been unearthed that had, until now, been simmering below the surface.

Byleth broke away from Edelgard, looking a bit dazed as she stumbled back. "I... I can't give you an answer yet."

"Professor–"

She raised a hand to forestall further protest. "I have no intention of reporting you to Rhea. But I need some time to figure out..." She shook her head. "Who I can trust."

Edelgard closed her eyes and rallied all of her self-control to quash a wave of disappointment. When she looked at Byleth again, Edelgard was composed, the future emperor once more–and not a girl who longed for a dear friend to help her carry the weight of an empire. "Of course. I understand, Professor."

They began walking once more and the silence that hung over them was different. Uncomfortable, certainly, but also lighter somehow. They had bared all of their secrets.

It was Byleth who, some minutes later, spoke first. "So where _does_ this tunnel lead?"

"Truly, I have no idea." And then when Byleth snorted, "I've only ever used the other passage, the one that led east. It comes out beyond the monastery's grounds and is useful if I need to leave Garreg Mach without anyone's knowledge."

"I see," Byleth said, her tone as neutral as if Edelgard had commented on the hue of a clear blue sky. "And the seal on the passageway?"

The lantern light swayed with Edelgard's every step. She scanned the illuminated circle ahead for obstacles–or rats–even as she turned her options over in her mind. How much could she afford to reveal to Byleth when she was, for the moment, neither ally nor enemy? And would truth be enough to earn her loyalty? "I have... agents... at Garreg Mach. One of them ensured that the passageway could only be used by me. At least in theory. Your presence wasn't something I could ever have factored into my plans."

"No, apparently only Rhea could do that."

Byleth's words rattled through her thoughts like their footsteps echoing down the passageway. '_Rhea did something to me._' Anger roiled in Edelgard's gut and coiled around her throat, as dark and monstrous as the magic that had transformed Cornelia's agent into a demonic beast. "The archbishop is a monster. The emperors of Adrestia have always known this, but for the first time we have the opportunity to do something about it."

Byleth did not immediately reply and Edelgard decided it was best not to push any further. She took a deep breath of cool, musty air, and calmed herself. "This passage seems to be leading us deeper into the monastery, towards the cathedral I think."

"Did you have me followed tonight? Is that why you were at the cemetery?"

Edelgard was glad to have her back to Byleth so that the professor could not see the mix of surprise and consternation that played over her features. She had not planned for things to play out this way–in such a mess of questions and assumptions. She had wanted to reveal the truth to Byleth in such a way that the justness of her cause would be obvious. She had wanted to unmask the Church once and for all.

"Professor..." Edelgard sighed. "I've had someone keeping an eye on your quarters. If it had been a student who'd put the note under your door we'd have just assumed it was another love letter for the academy's most eligible professor."

"I'm really not–"

Edelgard turned and, lantern raised, peered at Byleth in the shifting light. "How many love notes do you think Professor Hanneman and Manuela receive precisely?"

Byleth's nose wrinkled. "I'd prefer not to contemplate that if it's all the same to you."

A tiny smile made its way to Edelgard's lips. There was the professor she knew, the one to whom she'd entrusted her past and the dreams for her future. The one who'd chased away the darkness. And though the rocking lantern's light made shadows dance across Byleth's features, Edelgard could see her dear friend there once more.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand. Who did send the letter?"

Edelgard nodded. "Someone in the garb of a knight slipped the letter under your door but then headed out onto the grounds and vanished. We knew it had to be someone's agent but until tonight we couldn't sure, though Hubert did have his suspicions."

Byleth's lips quirked. "As he always does." And then, brow furrowed, "Who is Cornelia?"

"An associate of Solon. You _must not_ mention her name outside of here. She is influential in Faerghus and I'm certain Dimitri is oblivious to her involvement. Or substitution, as the case may be," Edelgard added grimly, thinking of Thomas and Monica.

"She sent someone after me and I should do nothing? That's what you're saying? Can't your control your own allies?"

Edelgard realized she was holding the lantern in a white-knuckled grip when her injured hand began to ache, blood seeping through the fabric of Byleth's makeshift bandage. "Professor, you must believe me when I say that they are not under my command. They hold powerful positions within the empire and elsewhere. And though I am to be emperor, I'm certain they see themselves as the true power behind the throne." And then, voice as sharp as her axe-blade, "I intend to change that."

Byleth's eyes shifted from Edelgard's face to the hand that gripped the lantern. Her expression flickered. "Here, let me take that." She reached out for the lantern, her fingers brushing against Edelgard's as she took hold of it. The barest of contact was enough to make Edelgard's heart flutter–much to her own embarrassment.

Lantern in hand, Byleth led the way, though only a minute later she announced, with evident relief, that she could see stairs ahead. At the end of the narrow stairway they found a wall with a latch.

"I don't know where we'll come out," Edelgard said.

"Hopefully not in Rhea's sanctum," Byleth said dryly and then doused the light. She tugged on the latch and a panel inched open. For a moment neither of them dared move or even breathe. Seconds ticked by with no outcry, no footsteps, and finally Byleth's shoulders sagged with relief. She pushed the panel all the way open and stepped forward. Edelgard followed after her and found herself surrounded on either side by two stone pillars. In the darkness, it took her a moment to recognise them for what they were–not pillars but the statues of Saints Indech and Macuil. They were in east wing of the cathedral.

Edelgard's relief was short-lived. In the silence, a single pair of footfalls was easy to hear, though they were light as pegasus wings. Edelgard froze. And then singing wafted through the cathedral, a hymn, the voice both familiar and chilling. Rhea.

"Soon..." Rhea's voice was close now. She must be at the apse, just in front of the saints' alcove. "Soon, Mother, you will return to me."

When she looked to Byleth she found the professor's fists clenched, fury contorting her features. It was unlike anything she had seen from Byleth, more raw even than her grief after Jeralt's death. Byleth moved–and terrified that she was about to do something foolish, Edelgard grabbed her around the waist and tugged her back between the statues where they would not be seen should Rhea glance towards the alcove. Edelgard knew better than anyone that Rhea was not forgiving. Being spotted now would be a death sentence.

Rhea began to sing once again, her lilting voice filling the cathedral, rising to the high dome and trickling back in the faintest of echoes. Byleth stilled in her arms, but Edelgard could feel the tension rippling through her body and the set of her jaw, against Edelgard's cheek. Pressed close to her, Edelgard wished she could feel Byleth's heartbeat, but all she could feel was the hammering of her own.

The minutes dragged on, limping by like a lamed horse. Neither of them dared move. And Edelgard wondered if this was how it would always be, her desperately clinging to the professor, holding her back from her fate? Was this moment of peril the only way she would ever be this close to her?

Finally the notes of the song faded and soon after so did Rhea's footsteps as she walked down the cathedral's main aisle. They waited some minutes still until they were certain she was gone before they peeked out of the alcove. "All clear," Byleth whispered and motioned for Edelgard to follow.

They kept close to the wall just in case one of the knights on patrol should happen by, but they were able to reach one of the side exits and finally return to the safety of the grounds where none would question their right to a late-night stroll. Even so, it was not until they were far away from the cathedral, in a quiet patch of garden, that they were brazen enough to speak.

"Well," Byleth said, her tone as dry as sand in the desert "that was a nightmare."

Edelgard nodded. "One I trust you'll keep to yourself for the time being."

Byleth's shoulders sagged, weariness plain on her every feature. "What choice do I have?"

Edelgard refrained from reminding her that she could choose to report everything to the Church, as most students here would likely have done if they knew half of what she did. But then they had not suffered at Rhea's hands as Byleth so clearly had. Clearly Byleth's transformation had not only been due to her experience with the Solon's spell. The Church's interference was somehow responsible for all of it. Whatever the ritual Rhea had planned in the Holy Tomb, Edelgard knew she could not let it go forward.

Then and there she made a critical decision.

"My teacher... Very soon I'll need to take a trip to the capital. Come and speak to me before I do–I'll have something important to ask of you."

For a long moment Byleth simply looked at her. And then finally she nodded. "Very well. I'll do that." She let out a long breath. "But for now I think I could use some rest."

"You'd best avoid anyone until you can clean yourself up." Edelgard fingered Byleth's bloodstained collar. "You look rather the worse for wear, Professor."

Byleth grimaced. "It's been a long night." And then, to Edelgard's great surprise, Byleth took her injured hand and brought it to her lips, pressing them just above the handkerchief still wrapped around Edelgard's knuckles. "Be well, Edelgard. Goodnight."

Edelgard hoped it was too dark for Byleth to see the blush that crept up her cheeks. "Goodnight, my teacher."

As Byleth walked away, a curious lightness filled Edelgard's being, as if a terrible weight had been lifted from her. It was like the moment she stripped off the Flame Emperor's armour and became simply Edelgard once more. Byleth had uncovered the secrets Edelgard had so carefully buried, but she thought that somehow, in the deep darkness, they had discovered something else, something they both needed more than answers. Something that would lead them to a future where they could stand together in the light of dawn.

**The End**


End file.
